The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-04-14
PROFIT IN LIQUOR.


whisky-Mxed Drinks
New York World.
A LIQUOR dealer of many years expert
ence summed up the high-license BUSH
ness in this way yesterday: IF high
license becomes "a law, it will drive out
the low saloons: One thousand dollars
a year is not going to hurt any well
conducted saloon or hotel They can all
afford to pay 81 200 license for each year
at the rate of profit they make ON their
sales.
Between you and me, the liquor you
buy at one bar is not very different from
what YOU get ut another. 1t often comes
from the same wholesaler, and all the
variation in price is caused by the
amount of frills that goes with the
drink. OF course, you don't expect to
get off a. cheap where you have a chance
to inspect BOuguereaus paintings and
Gobelin tapestry, as you do at the bar
where all the art consists of IA few litho-
graphs of fighting men and variety ar
lists. But as far as the whisky you buy,
what is the difference? 1t is sold in
large lois at anywhere from S1.15 to SEQ
a gallon. As n matter of cold fact, 30
per cent. of all the whisky that sells over
bars costs about 81 a gallon. Don't get
restless and say how fine the stuff is i'll
the art galleries uptown. | can find you
Grand street where it's Just as good.
Well, one gallon makes fifty ordinary
drinks, at. say, 20 cents each. or $40
return for 81 original outlay. OF course,
the rent, license, fittings, pay of bar
keepers, cost of paintings and tapestries
and statuary, all have to- come out of
that apparent profit of ~ gallon. Let
us be liberal and say they amount to 81
"A gallon-which, of course. they don't
10. ell = A nh
the saloon-keeper can afford to- pay the
difference between the $3.50 and 81 900
cense fee without running up the price
drinks? You and i know he won't
stay, bat he can afford to stay at the old
prices and still grow healthier, weather.
and wiser every year. | tell you the
man who grows wealthiest Will be he
who sticks to the old prices, even if his
license does pinch him "a little.
Consider the man who sells S2-a-gal-
lon whisky for 10 cents per libation.
Fifty drinks bring him So for his 81
worth. His rent is small, his barkeeper
costs little and art gallery he has none.
1t can all be paid, along with the 81 900
license, and still leave him couple of
dollars profit on every gallon. OF course
he is going to charge 10 cents drink
if the High-License bill becomes a law
What then? Why, his customers leave
him and he fails. But let him stick to
10 cents "a drink and his fortunes as good
as made.
As for mixed drinks, everybody
knows they are little gold mines. In a
15-cent gin cocktail you get three cents
worth of gin, one cents worth of bitters
and one cents worth of sugar, lemon
juice and lemon peel. Total cost, five
cents; profit, ten cents. Deducting all
expenses in the most liberal way, there
remains a clear profit of eight cents q
cocktail. Gin costs about $3 gallon
There is enough to make sixty 'fizes' in
every one. Sixty eggs cost xf.20, anC
lemons, sugar and settler cost sixty cent:
more. Total cost of sixty flies, $3.50
At % cents piece they bring in $l5, or
at 10 cents, 80. Look at the profit il
that {. l could give you plenty of similal
instances of pro- in other drinks, bu
I'm afraid you might beat your pen int,
toddystick and invest all your money
in an uptown art gallery.
What is the profit ON mixed drinks:
"A cocktail mixed costs Is cents a
the least-these are lower than New
York prices, you understand-and in
places where that is the price the drinkel
gets 3 cents worth of liquor, cents
worth of bitters and about one cent,
worth of sugar and lemon juice. Profit
. cents, Then ON beer the profit is 10,
per cent, and heretofore the brewer
have supplied the fancy signs that adorI
so many corner stores. In addition, the,
have, ~ keen has been the competition
been compelled to furnish ice-boxes t.
dealers. In many cases they have com
pletely fitted up the places. Bass al
and porter cost S1.15 n dozen. and TIN
retailers get 80 for it. These are proba
bly, the least profitable drinks that the
handle. An egg-nog for which the,
charge 20 cents can be made, and mucI
better than you get them in some places
for cents. With these facts in view
it wouldn't be surprising if the big re-
tailers were satisfied with the 81 900 Il
cense, but. as you can find out for your
self, they are not"